A 22-YEAR-old who gave a man a bleed on the brain with a single punch has been jailed for more than three years.

Dmiko Berkley, of Kingsway South, was on a night out in Warrington in 2018 when he inflicted the traumatic injury, which left his victim needing part of his skull removed.

Berkley appeared in Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, also charged with stealing a boy's hat and gloves on Christmas Day, as well as a public order offence.

Prosecutor Paul Blasbery, said that on October 3 of that year, the victim recalled he left The Showbar in Friars Gate and never spoke to anyone.

He then felt a large blow to his face, which knocked him unconscious for several minutes.

The court heard how a doorman on duty that evening spoke differently, and said the victim had been ejected from the club for trying to start fights and was then racially abusive.

Berkley exited the same bar during the victim's outburst and when he turned to look at him, Berkley punched him once to the face.

The victim was found to have bleeding inside his skull and fractures to his nose, skull and jaw.

A brain scan revealed bruising to the brain tissue and he required surgery to remove part of his skull.

He now has a weakness to the right side of his body, a misshapen head, has suffered from seizures and has been diagnosed with epilepsy.

Mr Blasbery continued that on Christmas Day last year, Berkley approached a boy in Warrington town centre, asked to see what was in his pockets and ran off with his hat and gloves.

A few weeks later on January 18, at about 2am, police in the town saw Berkley in an agitated state.

He was arguing with his friend and punched him.

This man did not wish to press charges and 'the next day they were best friends again'.

Berkley has three previous convictions for four offences.

Mark Shanks, defending in court, said his client's offending was sparked by the death of his brother in 2017.

He added that while not an excuse, it has had impacted him.

Addressing the serious assault, Mr Shanks said Berkley heard the racially abusive comments that were being made that night, but did not intent to cause such serious injury.

All three incidents were committed under the influence of alcohol and Berkley had since stopped drinking to address this.

"It is always an aggravating feature if an assault is committed by someone under the influence of alcohol," Judge Brian Cummings remarked.

"I do accept that the victim of the section 20 assault was himself behaving in an aggressive and provocative manner that night."

Judge Cummings added the offences placed Berkley in breach of a suspended sentence previously imposed on him for possession of a knife and possession with intent to supply drugs.

He was sentenced to three years and one month in prison.